New Mexico still stuck in bottom of pack in child well-being

LAS CRUCES &GT;&GT; New Mexico is no longer last in the nation in child well-being, though it hasn't moved far up the list. The Land of Enchantment is back in 49th place, beaten out for worst by Mississippi.

New Mexico made gains in education and teen pregnancy over the past several years, but still struggles with economic indicators, according to the 2014 Kids Count report from the Baltimore-based Annie E. Casey Foundation.

The annual report evaluates all 50 states based on 16 economic, education, health and family and community indicators.

The state has made a few gains from 2011 to 2012, the most recent data the report examines. About 8,000 fewer children are living in poverty and about 25,000 fewer children live in homes where the household head lacks a high school diploma. Slightly more children are attending preschool, are proficient in reading in fourth grade and math in eighth grade and are graduating on time, according to the report.

But 2,000 more teenagers are not in school or working and 5,000 more children live in single-parent homes, according to the report. Another 4,000 children live in high-poverty areas, up from last year's 108,000 children.

Advertisement

"We're seeing very small, incremental improvements," said Sharon Kayne, spokeswoman for New Mexico Voices for Children, which runs the state's Kids Count program. "The problem is we need to take a longer view, a comprehensive look at improving outcomes for kids ... We take a piecemeal approach. Let's spend more money on education here and health care there."

The state's high rate of poverty affects its performance on other indicators, Kayne said.

"Kids born into poverty don't have the same access to resources," she said. "They start off at a disadvantage and, unless there's significant intervention, they stay behind."

One of New Mexico's biggest gains is its drop in teen birth rates — from 62 births per 1,000 girls ages 15 to 19 to 47 births per 1,000 girls — which advocates credit to the rise in the number of school-based health centers. Nationwide, however, the average is 29 births per 1,000 girls.

New Mexico's child death rate is also unchanged and particularly high: 36 children per 100,000 compared to 26 per 100,000 across the country.

Nationwide, states experienced many of the same changes as New Mexico — economic conditions worsened and education and health indicators improved — but New Mexico was already performed far below national averages on all 16 indicators.

The geographic divide is obvious in this year's report: All of the bottom 10 states are Southern or Southwestern states, from South Carolina to Arkansas to Nevada. New Mexico has never ranked about 40th, and that was in 1995.

"We've gone pretty much downhill ever since," Kayne said.

Gov. Susana Martinez's spokesman Enrique Knell emailed the Sun-News general comments on the need to "embrace reform" to improve child well-being. He did not respond to requests for an interview with the governor.

Kayne emphasized the need for more funding for programs for young children, like early childhood education, improved health care and home visiting programs. There has been an increase in funding for early childhood education, including an additional $300,000 for early childhood teacher retention and compensation.

"We're still not nearly where the need is," Kayne said, "but that has improved."

Jardín de los Niños director Audrey Hartley urged New Mexico officials and organizations to take a holistic approach to improving child well-being. Jardín de los Niños provides early childhood education, therapeutic services, parenting classes, home visits, health checkups and more to homeless children ages 10 and under and their families. That model connects all Community of Hope services and could be an example for the state as a whole, she said.

"That one circle in Las Cruces, New Mexico, is looking at the whole picture and trying to address the symptomatology," she said.